I love red flowers. I can't believe my geranium baskets still look this good. That's October in the Sunbelt.
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” –Charles M. Schulz
The older I get the more I enjoy the simple things. A red geranium. A child’s face or hand. One little piece of chocolate to savor. A cup of coffee. A smile from a stranger. A hug from an ESL student. A message from a daughter. A phone call from a friend. Music, the universal language. Fabric. Yarn. Crayons. So many things to love.
I try not to look back with too many regrets. I think my energy is better spent on positive, now things. I have learned that if I look forward too much or back at the past too much, I forget to enjoy the now. It’s taken me a long time to internalize that. And I don’t always get it right. But I’m trying.
Is life simpler without my former spouse? Absolutely. I wouldn’t have chosen that path but now that I’m on it I recognize it as much simpler than living with another person and feeling as if I have to justify myself on many fronts. The single life has enabled me to start thinking about simplifying other aspects of my life. I’m giving away things that I love to people I love. And I hope that if they get to the point that they want to give them away, they will feel free to do so. I want very much to give without conditions or strings attached. I’m cleaning my closet and dresser drawers and will give the things I don’t use to my sister. She just opened a thrift shop and needs goods to sell. Once I’ve cleaned enough out of this house I would like to sell it and downsize again. I will try to wait until the housing market recovers a bit. And I’m trying hard to avoid buying things I don’t need. Eventually, if I continue that trend, I won’t have so much to give away/clean up/clear out. That sounds very appealing to me.
As my daughter said to me in an e-mail a while ago, “We’re ready to move on. 2011 is looking good!”
Back On My Own 